Jacote



Fatenteol- Dec. 26, 1922.

UNHTED snares Parent cranes.

JACQUIECYRUS MORRELL, OFNEW YORK, N. Y.

SUSPENSION AND EMULSION AND PROCESSOR MAKING SAME.

specification.

' invention This invention relates to binding or agglomerating materials and their preparationsuch binders as are used in agglomerating finely divided particles of solids to producebriquettes, electrodes, artificial charcoal, etc.

Among the objects of the invention is the preparation of an oleaginous or pitchy binder in such form as to allow itto disseminate throughout a mass of finely divided solid so as to wet substantially every! particle thereof.

Another object of the invention is the preparation of a highly viscous binder in a form having very low viscosity.

StilLanother ob'ect is the preparation of a binder in such orm as to necessitate the us of only a small amount to bring about the agglomeration of a large quantity of the solid articles. I

Wit these and other objects in view, the consists in the preparation of a pitch binder in the form of an emulsion or suspension in a medium which Wlll itself wet the particles of the material to be agglomerated and thus aid in the dissemination of the binder throughout a body of finely divided material. I

Heretofore, in making agglomerates 0 f finely divided carbonaceous material for the purpose of making artificial charcoal, electrodes, fuel briquettes, etc., a quantity of the carbonaceous material has been mixed with a binder of soft pitch and, on account of the sticky viscous nature of the latter, such mlxing required the use ofheated mixers and even then very! intimate mixture was not obtainable. While very intimate admixture is not necessary in fuel briquetting, itis desirable in making electrodes and artificial charcoal in order that the product may have the best physical characteristics, the ideal condition being that each particle of the carbonaceous material is attached to itsneighbors by a film of the binders. It will be readily seen, therefore, that such an ideal condition could hardly be brought about when the binder is aviscous material, even Application filed March 22, 1919. Serial Ito. 284,461.

at fairly high temperatures. I If, on the other hand, a liquid pitchy binder isused, it to; a large extent distils out in the heating step to which the material is subjected, leaving large pores and increasing the fri'ability of the final roduct. I

According y, the present process and prod- 'uct have been devlsed to permit the use of a hard pitch binder which when used to cement together the finely divided carbonaceous particles and subsequently heated to a suitab e temperature will not distil but will coke and leave finely porous residue along the positions previously occupied by the binder.

ln carrying out the present process there is first produced a suspension and emulsifying medium of Water containing a protective colloid.

An example of the preparation of such medium'is as follows A 2-;- to 3% solution of tannic acid is first prepared and to this is slowly added a quantity! of 35% ammonium hydroxide equal to about 40% of the weight of tannic acid used. The color of the solution changes gradually from a light amber to a dark orange and this affords a valuable check in making up the solution as the darker solutions do not give as good results as the lighter ones.

When this solution has been prepared, it is used to produce, first a suspension of finely ground hard pitch and, second, an emulsion of an oil such as heavy coal-tar oil, in the followin beingsuitable for use in binding substances like carbon black which are not easily wet.

lhe hard pitch utilized in the present process and product is such material as is obtained in the distillation of bituminous coal and crude oils. It, for instance, may be the material described on page 2%, volume 3, of Allens Commercial organic analysis, 1910 edition. Allen indicates hard pitch as softeningat 80 C. and meltin at temperatures between this and 122 Such material ma be used in the present process with goo at ever higher temperatures has been found suitable.

Hard pitch (for example, one melting at about 130 C.) is crushed and ground to a fineness suflicient to pass a ,100 mesh screen or finer. A suitable quantity of this is then methods, the proportions given results "and hard pitch melting used for the suspension. A sufiicient quanthe emulsified medium should be tity of the solution of the emulsifying medium containing the protective colloid is added to the hard pitch and mixed until a time untilthe whole contains about 6% by weight of pitch, or tosanyi other desirable consistency. The amount of tannic acid in from 15% of the quantity of pitch in the final product. 1

The oil emulsion is prepared by admixing and, thoroughly agitating the required "quantity of oil with someof the emulsifying medium above described until the whole contains about 5% of oil. Suitable oils for this purpose are the heavy coal tar oils and as an example anthracene oil may be mentioned as having given excellent results.

The oil emulsion and pitch-suspension are then mixed with agitation in suitable proportions These proportions are such that the amounts of pitch and oil contained, would it added to each other, produce a soft pitch of the required consistency.

- The product prepared in the manner described has many valuable characteristics among which may be mentioned the property by virtue of which it allows the soft pitch to be completely adsorbed by such materials as carbon black, fullers earth, and other adsorptive materials allowing the greater part of the water to be separated by simple filtration. It also may be diluted within very wide limits, so that the pitch content of the product may be widely varied. Further, as has alread been indicated, the viscosity of the glo ules which make up the emulsion can be changed at will by the addition of one or the other of the two prepared constituents, i. e., the emulsion of oil and the suspension of hard pitch.

The product prepared as described is a true emulsion as is shown by the fact that it possesses an electric charge, the sign of which is "dependent u on the nature of the protective, colloid use This. is also shown by the fact that, although the particles will settle in time, the settling process can easily be reversed by simple agltat-ion even though the emulsion-has stood for months. It is In making briquetted carbon for elec- I trodes, absorbent charcoal, and the llke, the

consistency of the binder is determined by several factors; if the binder contains much oil, the cake of carbon material will be too, soft for grinding and would have the pitch will raise the melting point too,

near the coking temperature to allow proper handling of the carbon material after the addition of the binder. smooth, thick paste is produced, adding more of the diluted solution from time to -lVith other carbons the proportion of oil and pitch to the suspension medium may be greatly increased, and suspensions containing up to and over 50% oil and pitch have been used with satisfactory results.

It will readily be seen that the present invention is not'limited to the preparation of a binder for preparing electrodes and absorbent charcoal and the like, but is of a broader aspect. Binders as herein described may be prepared and used for a number of purposes, such as briquetting fuel etc., road surfacing, dust laying and any purpose for which it is desirable to disseminate a small amount of pitchy binding material throughout a large amount of finely divided solid.

2. A dispersion of coalesced particles of non-fluid pitch and oleaginous material in a' medium containing aprotective colloid, said medium constituting the continuous or external phase.

3. A dispersion of coalesced particles of hard pitch and oleaginous material ina medium containing a'protective colloid, said medium constituting the continuous or external phase.

4. An emulsion of coalesced particles of non-fluid pitch and oleaginous material in water containin a protective colloid, said ,water constituting the continuous or external phase.

5. A dispersion of coalesced particles of pitch and anthracene oil in a medium containing a protective colloid, said medium constituting the continuous or external phase. too much volatile matter,'thus afiectlng the 6. In a process of producing emulsions'of viscous liquids and semi-sollds, adding a suspension of pitch to an emulsion of an oleaginous" substance, said substance belng of such nature that it will flux with, disperse, or dissolve partly or wholly the said pitch.

7. The'process of producing a material for binding or agglomerating finely divided substances which comprises suspending finely divided non-fluid pitch in a suspension medium containing a protective colloid and agitating the resulting composition.

8. The process of producing a material for binding or agglomerating finely divided substances which comprises preparing a suspension of finely divided pitch and mixing therewith a substance capable of softening the said pitch.

9. The process of producing a material for binding or agglomerating finely divided substances which comprises preparing a suspension of finely divided pitch and mixing therewith an oil.

10. The process of producing a material for binding or agglomerating finely divided substances which comprises preparing a suspension of finely divided pitch and mixing therewith an emulsified oil.

11. The process of producing a material for binding or agglomeratingfinely divided substances which comprises ni iking with a suspension of finely divided pitch, an emulsionof oil in a medium the same asthe pitch suspension medium.

12. The process of producing a material for binding or agglomerating finely divided substances which comprises preparing a suspension of pitch, also preparing an emulsion of oil and mixing the suspension and emulsion in such proportions that the oil. and pitch are present in proportions to form soft pitch.

13. The process of producing'a material for binding or agglomeratingfinely divided substances which comprises preparing a suspension medium containing a 15% protective colloid, suspending in a part of the medium from 5% to about 50% of finely divided pitch and in the remainder emulsifying from 5% to 50% of oil then mixin the suspension and emulsion. I

JAG CYRUS MORRELL. 

